Big Changes (Warriors 118, Clippers 97)

Somewhere on a Maui beach, a Hall of Fame coach is probably smiling. Mark Jackson went small in Game 4 — starting Draymond Green for Jermaine O’Neal — and the Warriors responded instantly. And while the move absolutely draws from the Don Nelson school of turning an opponent’s strength into a weakness with targeted mismatches, there’s a twist to Jackson’s line-up change. Green for O’Neal gives the Warriors better match-ups on both offense and defense. By inserting Green and sliding David Lee to center, Jackson gets his best healthy low-post defender on Blake Griffin and shifts Lee to the least dangerous offensive player on the court, DeAndre Jordan. Green battled with Griffin all night, holding him to a relatively tame game (21 points, but 4 turnovers and only 6 rebounds) and Lee did a tremendous job on Jordan, keeping him away from his favorite looks (lobs and put-backs). As a whole, the Warriors’ defense was more focused and aggressive. But the improvement was nothing compared to what the team gained on offense.

After 10 quarters of struggling to generate any sort of ball-movement and fluid offense, Jackson went small in the second half of Game 3 and suddenly got Stephen Curry back into the mix. In Game 4, Curry and the Warriors picked up where they left off — making the most of having four players on the court with Curry capable of flashing to the perimeter to set screens and draw defenders away from the basket. Curry commented after Game 4 that he immediately felt more comfortable setting his defenders up to be screened with the smaller line-up — likely because Green (who was setting many of the picks) and others were getting there faster, giving the Clippers less time to trap Curry in the corners. Once Curry got a little daylight, he unleashed the type of offensive attack Warriors fans had been hoping to see from the very beginning of the series. He had a 17-point first quarter, knocking down 5 threes. When he wasn’t pulling up, he was hitting teammates either cutting to the basket or in the high post. He logged 2 only assists in the quarter, but easily had another 2 or 3 passes leading to assists. Ultimately, the Warriors finally played an offense that accentuates their strengths: moving the ball to their shooters for open perimeter looks rather than dumping it into the post for isolation plays. The Warriors kept coming at the Clippers — 18-4 and 14-4 runs in the first quarter alone — and never looked back.

The improvements on offense held up through pretty much the entire game. Even when Curry cooled down in the second and third quarters (going 3-9), the rest of the Warriors picked up the scoring load. With Jackson’s small line-up, Jordan and Griffin were forced to follow Lee and Green to the perimeter, opening up the lane for penetration (including likely the finest in-traffic dunk of Klay Thompson’s career). When the Clippers started collapsing to cut off penetration, it left the other Warriors wide open for threes. The team finally rediscovered the inside-outside game it had played during the best stretches of basketball. The Warriors’ swarming defense just poured fuel on the fire. Curry successfully ran at Griffin in double-team situations, forcing the ball out of his hands. Green smothered Paul on several possessions at the perimeter. Big on small; small on big — it wasn’t conventional, but it was effective. The Warriors scored 26 points off the Clippers’ 19 turnovers — including several easy transition baskets that had been all but missing from the prior games.

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Given the controversy swirling around Donald Sterling and the Clippers, it’s hard to separate the basketball and non-basketball causes of LA’s inability to slow down the Warriors or punish them for going small. Doc Rivers showed a lot of leadership in his post-game comments — stating unequivocally that the loss was on him, that he failed to prepare the Clippers for the Warriors’ changes and that they can’t play the “right” way if he’s not coaching them properly. It was an admirable attempt to deflect media attention from a group of players suddenly under an international spotlight for non-basketball reasons. But it’s hard to tell how much truth there is to it. Rivers’ game plan wasn’t crazy — he had to test whether Green would be able to slow down Griffin and there was no reason to adjust his defense until the Warriors found a way to crack it. Regardless of their game-plan, the Clippers seemed to lack the same energy and execution of Games 2 and 3. From the opening tip, the Warriors were faster, more physical and more focused. There’s no way to isolate whether the difference in the game was the Sterling controversy, the Jackson adjustments or something mundane like a sore CP3 hamstring. But whatever the underlying causes, the Clippers team the Warriors successfully stared down in Game 4 looked a lot less daunting than the opponent they faced just a few days earlier.

We’ll find out in 48 hours whether the momentum change in the series is a blip or a trend. But the Warriors have a lot of reasons to be more optimistic about their chances:

Andre Iguodala had his best game in a long, long time. He was his usually tenacious self on defense (his absence was felt whenever Harrison Barnes had to cover J.J. Redick), but found an offensive groove that has been evading him. His shooting percentage from the field (6-8) is only surpassed in impressiveness by his percentage from the line (8-10), where he’s struggled of late. He did a wonderful job throughout the game making sure that the Warriors didn’t just lean on Curry’s hot hand. His distribution to Thompson, Green, Lee and others was a subtle but crucial part of the team’s offensive resurgence.

Harrison Barnes — who couldn’t throw a basketball into the Bay a few weeks ago — went 6-7 from the field (2-3 from three) and was an integrated piece of the offense (4 assists). It was above all other things a natural game for Barnes. He wasn’t awkwardly trying to create something off an isolation post-up. He was running, slashing, lurking — all within the flow of the game and rarely putting the ball on the floor. If the Warriors can keep him in this type of groove, he’ll be a huge boost for the remainder of the series. When Thompson fouled out in the fourth quarter, it was an inflection point for the Warriors. Barnes stepped up and helped them close out the game. A productive Barnes will empower Jackson to let Klay be as aggressive as possible on defense, knowing that there’s a viable plan B.

David Lee’s game looks relatively quiet on the box score (15 points, 6 assists), but it was just what the Warriors needed on the court. He wasn’t forcing action, as he did in Games 1 and 2. He let the ball find him on offense, leading to several easy dunks or lay-ups. He struggled a couple of times when he was matched up in single coverage on defense against Griffin, but generally showed a good sense or spacing and awareness against Jordan. There were no back-door lobs or thunderous put-backs. Jordan’s ineffectiveness drove Rivers to play Glen Davis big first-half minutes, giving the Warriors an even bigger match-up advantage.

Who didn’t play for the Warriors was as notable as who played. Jackson tightened up his rotation, giving no time to Crawford and barely any to Speights. The hockey substitutions were nowhere to be seen, with at least two starters on the court at all times before the curtain calls started in the fourth. As a result, the Warriors played a more consistent game, weathering Clipper runs and avoiding dead periods of their own. Another adjustment long overdue.

Winning in the playoffs often comes down to making adjustments. On Sunday, Jackson finally made the one that the Warriors desperately needed. Rivers will respond on Tuesday, but it’s not clear there’s an adjustment that can account for the distractions swirling around his team. Events beyond basketball have overtaken this series, pushing it into uncharted territory. But on the court, one thing was clear in Game 4: the Warriors may be out-manned and under-sized, but their confidence is growing.

Adam Lauridsen

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Great win, and excellent contributions from so many players. I didn’t mind Klay’s fouls because he played so aggressively throughout, and because Barnes backed him up so well. I really liked Jackson keeping Klay and Lee in the game even with their foul trouble, because the game was won in those minutes of extended good play, and we could easily have lost the game with the hockey rotation of subs in.

But really, how depressing for the Clips to have that grotesque racist as an owner. And really depressing was listening to national sports radio, nimrods from Oklahoma saying there’s a double standard, and blacks say bad things about whites and get away w it..blah, blah, blah. Then another guy who starts his comments by saying he has lots of black and hispanic friends but…Then the host asks how long to suspend Sterling and he says, “Maybe one game.”
I get the players not forfeiting the game, because they’ve worked too hard all year for one another. But they should all say on the record, they won’t play for him next year, or any other year. And every other player and coach and concessions worker and game announcer and trainer in the league should pledge the same thing.

I sympathize with those guys, and stand with them, but I still want the Warriors to win in six.

deano

Great write-up, Adam. Mark Jackson is learning, as befits a man in only his third year of coaching. It is amazing the difference in the game when Jordan and Griffin are pulled to the edges of the paint on defense.

My hope for Tuesday is that the Clips are even more distracted by their owner’s racism when they return to LA and have to deal with the inquiries and reaction of their friends and family. Thanks, Donald. You picked a great time to show us all what a moron you are.

Our Team

Rivers has a real problem now that Jackson finally figured out that his small team is much better than the Clippers small team and also better than the Clippers big team. The Clippers rely heavily on Griffin and Jordan and they’re not fully dimensional players. Griffin has improved his outside shot but he can’t put the ball on the floor effectively and Green has largely figured out how to at least slow down his offense. Did Jordan play in the game today? He was so effective against Jackson’s go big, slowdown the offense strategy, but since Jackson went small and the Warriors smalls moved him out of the key and started running Jordan has been a non factor.

So, what does Rivers do? Play more Ridick and Crawford? Probably, but we all know they play no D and are limited offensively in how they can score, which makes them more easily defensible. Matt Barnes is way past his “use by” date, as is Turkoglu. Big Baby is not an answer. Granger was good but it looks like his knees may be shot, so another limited offensive player. This Warriors team is much quicker and our smalls are much more dimensional than their Clippers’ counterparts. Guys like Iguodala, Thompson, Green and, yes, Barnes, have multidimensional abilities. So does Curry, even though he’s a limited defender, since he can score and create plays for others. Rivers has Chris Paul. Who else does he have who can beat you in various ways on the court? Even Griffin is limited.

The only problem for us is now that we lost Game 3 at home we’re behind the 8 ball–if we have a bad stretch or a key player in foul trouble and the Clippers get hot, we could lose this thing. However, I still think we’ll win this series. I’ve thought that from the beginning, although Jackson going big for 2 1/2 games really threw me for a loop.

Bill Persons

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity”
― Sun-Tzu

6 quarters of change that was needed. And Happened!!! What a joy to behold.

PeteyBrian

Why does Coach Jackson wait until late in game 3 to realize our small ball squad trumps the Clips? It seems so obvious to me – as many of us fans on this blog and others have been discussing. I hope this adjustment is not too late to win this series.

nelliebiggestfan

Pop failed to take responsibility or hold himself accountable for his teams troubles. After the last loss he said ” our bench has got to give us something, they have to show up”. In other words, he blamed the players for the loss.

Our Team

Will we start to see some Dudley and Willie Green? Are they available?

Our team thinks the clippers are stuck but they are not. What beats small ball is low post offense and the clippers have a great low post weapon in Griffin, they just didn’t use it in game 4 and that’s why IMO doc took the blame for the loss. They need to slow the game down, throw the ball into griffin and let him work in the low post and get green out of the game with foul trouble. Look for that to happen in game 5. If the w’s double griffin then the clippers should play Crawford, Reddick and paul together to give griffin passing options when he’s doubled. The next step for Griffin is to make the right pass when he’s doubled, we’ll see if he takes that next step in his development.

Camelot

PTB Batum nails it, this series is the best!!

buck mulligan

Sun-Tzu? Hmm. Wasn’t he an advisor to the Bush-Cheney White House?

Believewhat

What an idiot ?? If you are biggest of anything, that is whining.

sartre

It’s a thriller. Pity Lopez has fouled out, he is hugely important for them against Howard. Lopez’s game reminds me of Bogut’s.

Believewhat

Otis, on Klay’s fouls, I was thinking coach should switch his assignment from Crawford, surely Jeff Vangundy repeated the same and Klay fouled out soon after. Barnes to the rescue though.

Believewhat

One of the best game for dubs. Everyone contributed. That is what makes this great win.

Nice of Dre to join the part. Go Dubs !!

Peter Moto

the players or former players like Johnson or Jordan who declare he shouldn’t own a team, or that players under contract should refuse to play for him, need to reflect why stirling has been tolerated until now, how it required an illegally taped private conversation to raise the outcry. many or most of the folks objecting now said very little when the federal justice dept. went after him for discrimination, when he settled lawsuits from his tenants, when he renamed one of his residential properties for Korea and hired Korean staff for it to encourage Korean-american tenants and openly expressed his preference for that minority over African or Mexican americans. Mark Jackson played two years for the stirlings and before this recent incident he said it didn’t really affect him. plenty of former employees, like maggette or h.o.famer baylor, who served under sterling’s thumb, disclosed more than sufficient details about sterling’s m.o.

the association and player’s union essentially tolerated more transgressions with many more victims, all done in the light of the public record, than any ban or sanction can compensate for, and whatever further ‘sins’ they feel they might be curbing now with sanctions and declarations represent a token or symbolic gesture after the billion plus in sterling’s pockets.

Zume

This was our best game of the series but it was also the Clippers worst. Hard to say what will happen. I do believe our best chance to steal one on their court is the next game. They still will be distracted from the racist remarks of Sterling.

Here is a key quote from the Merc-

Perhaps the most dramatic drop-off of a Clippers player was center DeAndre Jordan, who was one of the first team members to respond publicly to Sterling’s remarks. Following up his superb 14-point, 22-rebound performance in L.A.’s Game 3 victory, Jordan wound up scoreless with just six rebounds in Game 4.

Did the events of the past 48 hours impact Jordan’s readiness? Jordan did not comment, and his teammates were unsure.

“I really can’t speak to that,” said Blake Griffin. “I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you. Everybody has games that aren’t as good as others. I think honestly we all had one of those games tonight.”

yodave22

..

Our Team

Hahaha. He never passes. I can’t stand watching those commercials anymore.

Our Team

Yeah. Basically, we have to win Tuesday night to win the series. I don’t like our chances in a Game 7 on the road.

Our Team

“Fire Barnes!”

Our Team

If they had a second low post scorer, I’d be concerned bc he could hammer Lee inside. Like Memphis with Randolph and Gasol, or even the Spurs with Duncan and Splitter. But they don’t. That’s a major flaw in their personnel package. We don’t either, of course, but we have an excellent small team and the Clippers do not.

RickP

There is precedent. Marge Schott, owner of the Reds made racist and anti-Semitic comments. I believe she was suspended by MLB for two years.

rigged

I don’t know but certainly, the Clips has this undeniable cause of distraction.

Fate or Faith?

Believewhat

Can’t deny the fact that Clips preparation was affected.

Thurston Hunger

Not even the one with the two Stephs ascending and Chris/Cliff descending? I like the message of that one… ;>

monsta

Also pleased that the team didn’t fall apart when KThompson had to leave the game with 5 fouls, and then when he fouled out.

First MJax switched Curry to Paul and put HBarnes on JCrawford. And when HBarnes couldn’t keep up with him, MJax made a great in-game adjustment, switching Iguodala to Crawford and letting HBarnes take Granger.

Tense moments there with about 8 mins left in the 4th, KThompson out and the Clippers cutting the lead to a single digit. But the W’s responded, in part because of those defensive switches. Great job.

Thurston Hunger

To me the W’s didn’t even double enough on Blake…but I agree that is a likely adjustment for Rivers to make. Of course the natural response for the W’s is to make Reddick/Crawford pay by having them defend Iguodala/Klay in the low post.

That will necessitate better entrance passes for Golden State (at least two just thrown away tonight) and beyond that AI/Klay will need to be decisive in their steps to attack the basket or hopefully move the ball as the team rotates.

Again I thought the W’s had one fantastic quarter of ball movement and players moving tonight. They benefited from Clipper turnovers for some easier buckets after that first quarter, but things sure slowed up as the game wore on. One thing I’m impressed by Portland is how they attack even when up late (now FT’s that’s another issue…)

Minute management too is something to keep an eye on. Steph, Draymond and Klay…I’m hoping MJax finds them each a 2+ minute breather in the second half on Tuesday. It was nice to have 3 days between the last two games, the upcoming games are 2 days apart with travel after every one.

Right now I understand the desperation in getting out of the FIRST round of the playoffs, but said playoffs last 2 months so getting a little more out of the second unit will be something a championship team needs eventually.

monsta

DJordan was pulled away from the basket, so he was not in position to block shots and get boards.

This links to a Daily News article about other owners who have made racist comments and what happened as a result.

I am encouraged by the fact that nobody has come to Sterling’s defense publically.. Unthinkable? Maybe, but not so long ago it was routine.

The article points out that owners have been disciplined before and that the NBA covenant has criteria for owners’ behavior.

Silver needs to throw the book at Sterling.

But, I don’t think that’s why the Clippers lost big today. I think that has to do .with the fact that Draymond is more mobile and a much better passer than JON. JON is bigger, but Draymond plays bigger than his height, recalling that his vertical reach is disproportionately long.

I think that they can do an even better job on Griffin. The double team worked. I recall two forced TO’s and maybe one time when Griffin scored. That’s good. Hopefully, we’ll see more of it.

I think the W’s main weakness may be in the flexibility of the coaching. Also, a 6 man rotation isn’t enough. They need something from Blake. Also, I think I’d play Hilton ahead of Mo. Fewer mistakes. And, if a guy scores 4 points in a minute, he’s earned another look.

Believewhat

Did ONeal himself has to go and talk to coach to make this switch which was so obvious to everyone. That and hockey subs.

Believewhat

six including 2 quarters of last game.

JEY

Very good notes, monsta!

Zume

Yes, that is part of it but I have to say that maybe he also was angry and mentally not as sharp as the previous game. 22 rebounds becomes 6 is not just about small ball, in my opinion. It is both..and not either or.

Zume

in this matchup the little adjustments make a big difference

Chris L

Shrewd and perceptive observation, nbf.

I was puzzled by that as well. In Game 3, Rivers went mercilessly to Griffin in the low post against Lee at the beginning of the 3rd quarter—something like 7 consecutive possessions—and it was then that the W’s 3 pt halftime deficit exploded to 16.

Inexplicably, there was never a spell of trying to batter Green the same way last night. And you’re right—the point of attacking Green that way would’ve been to compromise him with foul trouble.

One thought I have is that Rivers still remembers the hangover of Griffin’s ejection after tangling physically with Bogut insde. After that, Rivers has had Griffin move to the perimeter against Bogut—just as much as anything, I think, to spare Griffin the possibility of losing his cool again in physical confrontation with Bogut.

Now obviously Green gets under Griffin’s skin as well. So the only reason I can think of for Rivers not attacking Green in the low post with Griffin more is a fear that Griffin might lose his cool again—and potentially get in foul trouble again, too.

But I agree with you. That will change in Game 5. Attacking Green in the low post with Griffin is River’s inevitable counter move.

Campath

‘adjustment long overdue’ makes MJ’s ability even more questionable, if Adam et al can see this ahead of MJ, what does that mean in owner and FO’s decision after the season?

dr_john

He went at Lee for about -6 and Lee got pulled. Then he went at O’Neal for about -7 and JON got pulled. JON should have come out first but Jax saw some reason to get Lee off first.

Chris L

I was so impressed by Doc Rivers post-game—by his magnanimity in losing, by his recognition of the moment, by his heroic (and yet somehow still self-effacing) acceptance of responsibility for his team not being as well prepared to play yesterday as he wanted them to be.

Chris L

One of Jackson’s slow reactions in Games 1-3 was in not being alert and anticipative enough in recognizing when the Clippers were exploiting Lee defensively much more than Lee’s offense was capable of compensating for.

Chris L

Dave D’Alessandro’s scathing and provocative indictment of the NBA’s longstanding “business as usual” approach not only to Sterling, but to other NBA owners as well.

The article rightly noted that he isn’t the only robber baron among ownership.

What struck me was that no one truly questioned whether or not the recorded voice was Toad of Toad Hall’s. Not the players, league, media, or vast majority of fans. Everyone already knew what he was. It seems that obscene wealth, as an expression of power, buys most everyone’s complicity through their silence and inaction.

Chris L

I’m already getting more than a little tired of how current Clippers’ players and coaches are getting left on an island. Easy to pitch indignant sound-bites from a safe distance.

It’s true—as Charles Barkley said last night—that a league of predominantly black players has garnered enormous wealth for white owners like Sterling. But it’s also true that the same athletes have garnered enormous wealth from the same system themselves.

Time for the whole league—for all who profit from the system themselves—to get some real skin in the game.

Eric Eiserloh

Yes, great wealth has been made by the NBA players of recent generations, but that doesn’t mean that a plantation mentality among the ownership of most sport’s teams doesn’t exist simultaneously.
In fact, out bites like these actually reveal that it does.

Eric Eiserloh

DJ over the top and on the offensive glass will also counter the Warrior’s defense, not to mention home friendly crowds and officials

Eric Eiserloh

Just one game, OT. Don’t get over excited about what works and what doesn’t until it’s proven several times over.

Chris L

Now that I think about it, “plantation mentality” seems unhelpfully inexact—since it does a grave injustice to the actual historical reality of slavery.

Seems to me a better analogy would be the way transnational corporations create a system in which they create and prop up smaller local oligarchs who do the corporation’s bidding and profit enormously themselves.